Yaghan (dog)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Fuegian dog, or Yahgan dog, or Patagonian dog (), is an extinct type of
canid Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a family (biology), biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamily, subfamilies: the Caninae, a ...
. Its ancestry is a matter of scientific debate, though traditionally it was thought to be bred and
domesticated Domestication is a multi-generational mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a steady supply of reso ...
from the South American
culpeo The culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), also known as Culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf,Comparative ecology of two South American foxes, 'Dusicvon ariseus' and 'Culpaeus' by Warren E. Johnson. Doctoral dissertation. Io ...
, also known as the culpeo fox (''Lycalopex culpaeus''). There are very few remaining museum specimens or examples of the Fuegian dog; one is at the Museo Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, and another is at the Fagnano Regional Museum in
Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.


Taxonomy

Romina Petrigh and Martín Fugassa conducted a genetic investigation in 2013 using hair samples from taxidermized specimens of Fuegian dogs, belonging to a collection of the Fagnano Regional Museum, in Rio Grande. The DNA from the hair samples was compared with that of various canids that inhabit
Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...
, such as the culpeo (''Lycalopex culpaeus''), the
South American gray fox The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the ''chilla'' or ''zorro gris'' (gray fox or gray zorro), is a South America, South American species of ''Lycalopex'' (the "false" or lesser foxes) in the Ca ...
(''Lycalopex griseus'') and the
Pampas fox The Pampas fox (''Lycalopex gymnocercus''), also known as grey pampean fox, Pampas zorro, Azara's fox, or Azara's zorro (in Guaraní also called , anglicized as aguarachay, in Portuguese also called (), is a medium-sized zorro, or "false" fox, ...
(''Lycalopex gymnocercus''), and with that of domestic dogs (''Canis lupus familiaris''). This analysis showed a greater similarity between the Fuegian dog and the culpeo (97.57%), than with the domestic dog (88.93%). These results were supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis, suggesting an atypical domestication of culpeos by hunter-gatherers inhabiting Patagonia. This evidence is used by William L. Franklin to argue, in part, that the Fuegian dog "was not truly domesticated in the classical, domestic dog sense, but only partially as an intermediate between domestic and wild—strongly favouring the latter." The culpeo itself is similar (in form and stature) to true foxes (tribe
Vulpini Vulpini is a Tribe (biology), tribe which represents the fox-like taxon of the subfamily Caninae (the canines), and is sister to the dog-like tribe Canini (tribe), Canini. It comprises the 15 extant and 21 Extinction, extinct species found on all ...
), though it is closer, genetically, to wolves,
coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...
and
jackal Jackals are Canidae, canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe Canina (subtribe), canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-b ...
s (true canids, tribe Canini); thus it is placed in a separate genus within the
South American fox The South American foxes (''Lycalopex''), commonly called ''raposa'' in Portuguese, or ''zorro'' in Spanish, are a genus inhabiting South America. Despite their name, they are not true foxes, but are a unique canid genus more closely related to ...
es or ''zorros''. In a review of historical accounts and the current scientific literature, by Fabián Jaksic and Sergio Castro in 2023, they argued that the Fuegian dog was in fact two different animals, which they labelled as the Fuegian dog and the Patagonian dog. In their analysis, the ''Patagonian dog'', used by the Selkʼnam,
Aonikenk Tehuelche (''Aoniken, Inaquen, Gunua-Kena, Gununa-Kena'') is one of the Chonan languages of Patagonia. Its speakers, the Tehuelche people, were nomadic hunters who occupied territory in present-day Chile, north of Tierra del Fuego and south of th ...
, and
Manekʼenk The Haush or people were an Indigenous people who lived on the Mitre Peninsula of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. They were related culturally and linguistically to the Selkʼnam (also known as Ona) people who also lived on the Isla Grand ...
peoples, was a domesticated breed descended from the culpeo, whereas the ''Fuegian dog'', used by the Chonos, Kawesqar, and Yahgan peoples, was descended from an ancestral domestic dog population brought across the
Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...
. Others have posited the possibility of the Fuegian dog being domesticated from the now-extinct ''
Dusicyon avus ''Dusicyon avus'' is an extinct species of canid native to South America during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It was medium to large, about the size of a German shepherd. It was closely related to the Falkland Islands wolf ''(Dusicyon aus ...
'', or a potential hybrid of domestic dogs with either the culpeo or ''Dusicyon avus''.


Characteristics

Fuegian dogs had erect ears, sharp snout, longer straight fur, and a thick tail and were tawny-colored or entirely white. Surviving images show them to be a similar size to the wild culpeo, which weighs , or roughly the size of a
Shetland Sheepdog The Shetland Sheepdog, also known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It was formally recognized by the Kennel Club in 1909. It was originally called the ''Shetland Collie'', but this c ...
.
Samuel Kirkland Lothrop Samuel Kirkland Lothrop (July 6, 1892 – January 10, 1965) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist who specialized in Central and South American Studies. His two-volume 1926 work ''Pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua'' is regarded as a p ...
reported that their height ranged from 11 to 20 inches, while Ricardo E. Latcham reported them as being over .
Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...
s called these foxes "maned dogs" because of their resemblance to the
maned wolf The maned wolf (''Chrysocyon brachyurus'') is a large canine of South America. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay, and is almost extinct in Uruguay. Its markings resemble those of a red fox, but it is neither a fox nor ...
.
Lucas Bridges Esteban Lucas Bridges was an Anglo-Argentine author, explorer, and rancher. After fighting for the British during the First World War, he married and moved with his wife to South Africa, where they developed a ranch with her brother. Bridges ...
described the animals as like "a stunted cross between an Alsatian police dog and a wolf". It was described by French navigator , who headed the 1883 scientific expedition to Cape Horn, as "ugly, with long tawny hair and a sharp snout, it looks quite like a fox". In line with Jaksic and Castro's delineation into two separate animals, observations of Europeans described a smaller lighter colored dog that were employed in hunting
tuco-tuco A tuco-tuco is a neotropical rodent in the family Ctenomyidae. Tuco-tucos belong to the only living genus of the family Ctenomyidae, ''Ctenomys'', but they include approximately 60 different species. The common name, "tuco-tuco", comes from the " ...
s, and a larger darker colored dog that was employed in hunting
guanaco The guanaco ( ; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...
s.


Behaviour

Although the distribution of the Fuegian dog corresponded with that of the
Yahgan people The Yahgan (also called Yagán, Yaghan, Yámana, Yamana, or Tequenica) are a group of Indigenous peoples in the Southern Cone of South America. Their traditional territory includes the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, extending ...
, individual animals may not have been protective of their human owners.
Julius Popper Julius Popper (December 15, 1857 – June 5, 1893), known in Spanish as Julio Popper (), was a Romanian Jew and later Argentinian colonial engineer and explorer. He was known as a modern "conquistador" of Tierra del Fuego in southern South Amer ...
, one of the primary perpetrators of the genocide against the local indigenous population, wrote that: "I never saw them, no matter how large their number, take an aggressive attitude or defend their masters when these were in danger".


Uses

While
Julius Popper Julius Popper (December 15, 1857 – June 5, 1893), known in Spanish as Julio Popper (), was a Romanian Jew and later Argentinian colonial engineer and explorer. He was known as a modern "conquistador" of Tierra del Fuego in southern South Amer ...
did not observe the dogs being of use in hunts, Antonio Coiazzi did record their use in hunting and this has been supported by later research. Darwin commented in his 1839 work ''
The Voyage of the Beagle ''The Voyage of the Beagle'' is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ''Journal and Remarks'', bringing him considerable fame and respect. This was the third volume of ''The Narrative ...
'' that he had been told by a native child that they caught
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s for them. This was later supported by Martial's reporting. All sources agree that the dogs also provided a source of warmth in shelters as they would arrange themselves to sleep tightly against and around the Selkʼnam.; ; ; This was noted by Julius Popper stating: "The dogs placed themselves in a group around the small Onas, taking the shape of a kind of wrapping .... opinion is that the Fuegian dogs are only useful to complete the defective garment of the Indian, or better, as the Ona's heating furniture".


Extermination

In 1919, when Silesian missionary
Martin Gusinde Martín Gusinde (29 October 1886, in Breslau – 10 October 1969, in Mödling, Austria) was an Austrian priest and ethnologist famous for his work in anthropology, particularly on the Fuegians. He was one of the most notable anthropologists in Ch ...
visited the local Yahgans, he noticed that, to his knowledge, all of the dogs seemed to be missing. He immediately noted this as odd, especially considering that the tie between the dogs and the local people was well documented by foreign missionaries and explorers by this time. Indeed, this mutual cooperation allowed for the region to become the only stronghold of this unusual domesticated canine to have ever existed. Upon speaking to the local people and inquiring about what had happened to the animals, he was told that the entire known population of them had been exterminated, and it was claimed they "were dangerous to men and cattle". Apparently, this "fierce" nature of the animal was allegedly witnessed by Thomas Bridges in the 1880s, who in his writings, purported that the dogs attacked his mission's goats, while giving few specific details. As part of the campaign of the
Selknam genocide The Selknam genocide was the systematic extermination of the Selkʼnam people, one of the four indigenous peoples of Tierra del Fuego archipelago, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Historians estimate that the genocide spanned a perio ...
, the dogs were hunted by European ranchers and headhunters due to its use in hunting and home making among the Selkʼnam. This was the main cause of their extinction.


See also

*
Domesticated silver fox The domesticated silver fox (''Vulpes vulpes'' forma ''amicus'') is a form of the silver fox that has been to some extent domesticated under laboratory conditions. The silver fox is a melanistic form of the wild red fox. Domesticated silver fox ...
*
Falkland Islands wolf The Falkland Islands wolf (''Dusicyon australis'') was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands. This endemic canid became extinct in 1876, the first known canid to have become extinct in historical times. Traditionally, it had been ...


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Text also available in this collected-writings book:
* *


Further reading

* * {{cite journal , last1=Silva Rochefort , first1=B. , last2=Root-Bernstein , first2=M. , date=2021 , title=History of canids in Chile and impacts on prey adaptations , journal= Ecology and Evolution , volume=11 , number=15 , pages=9892–9903, doi=10.1002/ece3.7642 , pmid=34367547 , pmc=8328442 , bibcode=2021EcoEv..11.9892S Dog breeds originating from Indigenous Americans Dog breeds originating in Argentina Dog breeds originating in Chile Domesticated foxes Extinct canids Extinct dog breeds Fauna of Tierra del Fuego Genocide of Indigenous peoples of South America Mammal extinctions since 1500 Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Chile Mammals of Patagonia South American foxes Species made extinct by deliberate extirpation efforts